April 23, 2012 10:49 AM

Catholic bishops rebuke Obama

Catholic Bishops Take on Obama

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken a bold stand for religious freedom. In a recent statement, titled "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,"
the bishops call for repeal of contraception coverage mandated by the
Department of Health and Human Services. The clarified position sets up a
dramatic confrontation with the Obama administration--and would, if the
bishops prevail, help preserve the religious liberty of all Americans.

Barack Obama listens to a question from a guests attending the Health Care Summit.

The
HHS mandate requires employers to provide insurance coverage for
contraception and sterilization services. It is, according to the
bishops, an "unjust law." They write: "It cannot be obeyed and therefore
one does not seek relief from it, but rather its repeal."

The statement is a rebuke of President Obama and
the so-called accommodation his administration proposed in February. It
also raises the stakes between the president and the leaders of
America's Catholic Church.

The bishops call on Catholics in America, "in
solidarity with our fellow citizens," not to obey the law. They
implicitly compare the HHS regulation to a segregation-era statute, and
even cite Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." In a
not-so-subtle manner, the bishops tell the Obama administration that
they are willing to go to prison rather than comply with the mandate's
provisions.

In doing so, the bishops are ruling out the
possibility of a compromise that might preserve the mandate by expanding
possible conscience exemptions from it. Most discussion had been over
how far the religious liberty exemption should extend--but with the
bishops calling for repeal, that all could change.